Why Idleness is a More Dangerous Social Mindset Today

Technology is good but it's been abused to promote a sedentary lifestyle. The TV remote, for one, gave way to the couch potato lifestyle which provided leeway to a host of deadly illnesses. Just recently, I saw overweight kids driving electric ride-on toy cars as they roamed the mall. What little exercise they'd get from walking was forfeited by misusing technology.

Photo above by elizabeth lies on Unsplash.

No wonder the spate of juvenile diabetes today. And the skyrocketing number of folks suffering from heart diseases, diabetes, kidney failure and fatty liver. It's unusual to find someone like me free from taking any maintenance meds because high sugar and BP counts are deemed "normal" today. You'd be the odd one if you have normal counts. And why this new unhealthy normal? Most experts blame idleness second to poor eating.

Deadly Convenience

Another is the electric stand-on scooter. Ever seen it? It helps avoid heavy traffic especially during rush hours while you simply stand on it relaxed, quickly taking you to places. You don't have to sweat it out, unlike pedalled bikes. But that's exactly the point. It keeps you from walking or exerting physically. You just stand there idle as you travel to and from places. It's convenient but it's deadly (not to mention being prone to accidents).

At least commuting makes you walk, run after vehicles, climb up foot bridges or climb up and down buses or jeepneys. That's better than nothing, though never enough. Health experts say we need intentional physical workouts, aside from healthy eating, and commuting isn't really the workout our bodies need. We need healthy breathing environs with workouts. 

Thus, even if you get the hustles of commuting to work, you need to set aside a workout sched regularly which allows you to, well, really workout. 

Why Idleness is More Dangerous Today

Compared to, say, some 60 years ago (the 1960s for instance), our planet is doubly or triply polluted today and foods have more chemicals. GMO products flood the market and everything is flavored with too much sugar. I mean everything. Well, except eggs (thank God) as long as they come from poultry farms free of GMO feeds. 

Because overstress is a pandemic today, more people seek relief from junk foods overladen with sugar, transfats and preservatives (not to mention aspartame and other artificial sweeteners in foods advertised as "zero-sugar")---and online food delivery gives us easier access to them. We get them anytime we want, fast! 

And then you just stay idle there, letting all that kill you softly.

When God Sees You Idle

God knows how bad idleness is, being the Author of our bodies and health. So he gives a stern warning about carelessness with health just to dissuade us from developing unhealthy habits. Remember, his judgments are designed to spare us from further troubles. 

It was good for me to be afflicted

so that I might learn your decrees.. [Psalm 119.71]

And here's the stern warning: our bodies are the temple of the Holy Spirit. Anything we do to destroy God's temple (our physical bodies) will get an equivalent destruction. Simply put, if you live a destructive lifestyle, God will destroy you even more. 

If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy that person; for God’s temple is sacred, and you together are that temple.

[1 Corinthians 3]

If we keep on with idleness, we destroy our body, which is God's temple. In which case, God further destroys us. Imagine being so active in church and faithful with your tithes and offering and being prayerful and all that, but then you have an idle and unhealthy lifestyle. You eat all the bad foods and stay inactive all day, everyday. God will destroy you. And it's nonsense to claim a relationship with God when he's in fact destroying you. 😐

Avoid Sedentary

Here are things to watch out for:

1. Make sure you move around each hour, especially if your work confines you to your desk. I jog in place, do some squats and lift dumbbells now and then as I blog. Go out and walk around the block or simply walk around the house.
2. Aside from moving around each hour, schedule regular workouts.
3. Develop fondness for taking the stairs than escalators or elevators for the first 2 or 3 floor levels in malls.
4. Reduce the number of times you eat. Eat less, move more. I eat once or one and a half times a day. Intermittent fasting does a lot of health wonders, like burning fats and declogging your body systems.
5. Greatly minimize your sugar and carbs intake. Better if it's zero sugar and low carbs. 

Independent Thinking on Diets: Eating More to Lose Weight

I never thought it could be possible. I thought losing weight always meant eating less. But now I see lots of videos from fitness experts who say you got to eat more to lose weight. And it's probably what we should do during holidays, especially tonight during Media Noche or the Filipino tradition of having an eating spree during New Year's Eve.

Photo by Niklas Ohlrogge on Unsplash.

The trick is to eat more proteins and a lil bit of fat, say experts, and eating more this way makes you lose weight. They call it keto diet. But I have my own version. This is my treat for you this Season. A Nonjoiner weight loss diet (Nonjoiner keto?) that might help you lose weight as you eat more (disclaimer here--I said it "might" help you lose weight). And it's super simple. All you need to do is cut out on sugars. And I mean zero sugar! Then you can eat other foods all you want.

Just make sure you eat less times a day. No more snacks and try to gradually end up with eating 2 or once a day. Right now, I'm in the 2 and half times a day phase, which means eating less but nutritious breakfast, lunch with 1/8 cup of rice, and then a sandwich or fruit or nothing for dinner before 6 pm. And I always watch out to get rid of sugar.

I know. Zero sugar is hard during holidays which are lavished with sweet and delicious foods but there are more delicious alternatives than sweet foods. Ripe strawberries are a lot better than cakes, at least to me that is. And kiwi fruit. And cherries. And the white, soft, cottony guyabano fruit. 

Fruit cakes are also good. Yeah they have sugars but natural ones, mostly coming from the dried fruits. And in minimal amounts. A slice or two won't make you fat. Wash it down with black coffee. My favorite, actually. You should try it sometime instead of sugary cakes or white bread.

And you don't eat fruit cake everyday anyway during the holidays, at least not in Manila. So, you can cheat these holidays and not feel guilty about a few amounts of sugar. Burn them immediately with 4 sets of squats or 20-minute jogging in place. Or a simple fresh ginger ale will do it.

What I do is eat more proteins like eggs (I love fried eggs with my whole grain bread and coffee), soya milk or curd, tofu, Baguio or string beans and meats (chicken and fish especially). There are a lot of delicious holiday foods made of these ingredients, but to me nothing beats fried eggs. It's tops! Ham with real meat (not extenders) are also good.

But everything should be in moderation. Don't eat to much of anything.

Mozzarella and cottage cheeses are good, too, and I tend to eat generous amounts, especially when melted. I love mackerel and sardines in olive oil or cooked in coconut oil, with plenty of onions and garlic. Sinigang na maya-maya in miso with mustard leaves is often in our holiday menu--especially on Christmas or New Year's. Plenty of Omega-3 fatty acids there.

What I do is eat a lot with a variety. Meat, fruits, veggies, fish, nuts and wash them all down with water, coffee or fresh fruit juices. I try a little wine now and then--the resveratrol of red wine is good for you--but not to much because of the sugar. But wine is good when you eat meat, and it has lots of antioxidants.

But here's the one sure thing--I eat food with zero sugar as much as I can. I mean, there are times you can't avoid it, but when I can, sugar is definitely thrown out the window. I've developed a hatred for sugar and anything sweet. That's the secret. You can eat all you want as long as you avoid sugar. I can't say "carbs" because I eat sweet potatoes now and then (and it's carbs), and fibrous foods sometimes have carbs. But unhealthy carbs are definitely out, like rice.

Desserts? Well, to me it's fruits or nothing, especially a bit soury fruits like strawberries and kiwi fruit. But generally I eat any fruit because I love fruits. I don't like anything that looks and tastes like cake made of white flour and with sugar. 

Always remember, the bible says that our bodies individually are temples of the Holy Spirit. Anyone who destroys God's temple will be destroyed by God himself.

“Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.” [1 Corinthians 6.19-20] 

"If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy that person." [1 Corinthians 3.17]

On Wearing a Respirator Mask: Is it the White or Blue Side that Should be Exposed?

They tell us different things. One says the white side should be exposed to prevent getting infected. Another says it should be the blue side. So, which is which? One guy told me he wears two masks at a time---one exposes the white side and the other the blue side. It pays to be doubly sure, he said. [Image above from Kamil Feczko, Unsplash].

The World Health Organization says the blue side should always be exposed and the white side should be touching your face, if you want protection from outside infection or if you want to keep others from getting your cough virus. Why? A WHO expert said the blue side is waterproof, preventing any airborne transmission from being inhaled, and the white one is absorbent to absorb what you cough. Always, always the blue side out and the white side in.

But then again a popular mayor and his vice also did a demo on mask wearing on Youtube. But they told people the complete opposite. They said the white side should be out and the blue side in to protect yourself from infection. So now we don't know what to do. No wonder some folks prefer the N95 mask which is much easier to wear because its mere appearance gives us a good idea how to wear it. You can't wear it any other way.

For your reference, watch these videos.

See the WHO video below.

Here's another one citing the WHO video on wearing respirator masks:

See this Malaysian video below:

Here's a DOH (Department of Health, Philippines) video on wearing a respirator mask but nothing is said about which side should be inside or outside.

Below is an H1N1 official on wearing a mask:

Finally, below is Mayor Isko and his vice mayor doing a demo:

Still another one:

And still another:

Judge for yourself which is right. All mixed up? Well, I think my friend who uses two masks at a time is right. One mask has the blue side out, and another mask with the white side out. 😉

Why You Need Depression

Yup, we need to be depressed now and then. It's like stress. We need good stress to perk us up and goad us to peak performance. What's a no-no is distress. You don't need it one bit. Same with over depression. But believe it or not, depression has its positive uses, says Dr, Anderson Thomson. [Image above from Mathew W. Henry, Unsplash].

Thomson is assistant director of the Center for the Study of Mind and Human Interaction, University of Virginia in Charlottesville. If you can't believe what he said, he simplifies it further: "One way to think about it is the natural problem-solving capacities of depression,” he explains, saying depression helps you focus on your issues and somehow solve them.

It's like pain. Without it you can't know there's a health problem inside you. We hate pain but it actually warns us of something dangerously lurking somewhere in our bodies. Likewise, "Depression tells you there’s a problem, tells you where the problem is, stops business as usual, and signals others that you are in distress,” according to Thomson.

Depression is given a bad name today and with good reason. A lot of people fall easy prey to it once it strikes. So we're often warned of its symptoms so we could deal with it pronto--or seek help. But everything allowed by God is for a good purpose. Even depression. When godly men in the bible were desperate and depressed, they went closer to God.

Why, my soul, are you downcast? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God. 6 My soul is downcast within me; therefore I will remember you from the land of the Jordan, the heights of Hermon—from Mount Mizar. [Psalm 42]

Depression magnifies hopelessness and "can decrease a person’s ability to function at work and at home," says the American Psychiatric Association. It calls it a "serious medical illness." In some ways, God uses illnesses (or allows them) to strengthen our immune system once it learns how to fight the disease. So we become immune to it. The body can fight the virus better the next time and is sure to win. Illnesses, for some mysterious reasons, also helps us do God's will. Paul said:

As you know, it was because of an illness that I first preached the gospel to you, [Galatians 4.13]

When depressed, we tend to narrow down our activities, stay aloof, isolate ourselves, feel deep sadness and emptiness for days and even weeks. God allows this to hedge us in and get our attention a hundred percent. He wants us to put off everything and seek him. I learned this during my bout with depression in my college days when I felt the urge to lock myself in my room, feel depressed and hopeless for months, losing appetite for life and contemplating on dying--how it'd be like ending it all--and even death itself--what would happen after I die?

Watch video and click here.

I knew I was saved from sins and hell through Jesus Christ, but I wondered, what would it be really like right after you die? I felt so close to death then.

But also in those times of loneliness and depression, I desperately sought God. There was almost nothing I did but to seek him and grope for answers from him. Then he gave me enlightenment and I came out of the ordeal stronger, with a better spiritual "immune system."

When my heart was grieved and my spirit embittered, 22 I was senseless and ignorant; I was a brute beast before you. 23 Yet I am always with you; you hold me by my right hand. 24 You guide me with your counsel, and afterward you will take me into glory. [Psalm 73.21-24]

Depression is a warning that something is terribly amiss in our lives and should be addressed pronto. God allows this so we can have quality moments alone to look deeper inside us--so we can realize, on a higher level and deeper consciousness--that HE alone is God and He alone is our Life.

Are you depressed? It's time for you to seek God deeper. You may be at the threshold of a powerful breakthrough where you come out of the agony stronger and wiser.

Why These Folks Seldom Get Sick

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Yup, there are guys who very seldom get sick, if any. Everybody gets the flu virus except them, for instance. Sometimes, a strong virus spreads at the office during flu season and the air-conditioning system circulates it around so that everyone catches it--except one or two guys. What's their secret? Here's my simple secret to fitness. Click here.

I thought it was apple cider vinegar (ACV). I was taking it everyday and noticed one time how everyone in the office caught the cold and cough virus except me--and some of them were even sneezing in my face. I really thought I finally found the secret. And why not? Wasn't apple a powerful source of Vitamin C? Didn't they say an apple a day kept doctors away?

But months after the office breakout, I got the cold-cough virus despite my daily dose of ACV. And an officemate reminded me how Vitamin C cannot be stored in ACV bottles. The moment you cut open an apple, its Vitamin C starts evaporating. ACV is good for digestion, but as source of Vitamin C and as anti-virus?

But there are folks who look like they don't get sick at all. My grandpa lived to be a hundred, and at 100 years old he could still carry a 50-kilo sack of rice on his back. And once, also at 100 years, he was struck by a jeep. And he very seldom got sick. Yeah, he ate lots of fresh vegetables because he lived in the province, but how about other people I know who ate meat but still lived long--and never seemed to get sick?

Actually, grandpa did, too. Though he ate lots of vegetables, he also ate meat and pork. A lot of meat-gourging bible characters never got sick. Well, at least it's never mentioned in the book. They died of old age or war. Samson ate meat but never got sick. And how about Jesus? Being Jewish, it's understood he participated in the Passover which involved eating roasted calf meat. But there's no mention of him getting sick.

Well, I can imagine him getting sick now and then. The book of Hebrews mentioned how he underwent everything a human being is supposed to undergo or experience (except sinning), but I'm sure he wasn't sickly or didn't easily catch illness. So, what's the secret then? Is it diet? Lifestyle? Organic food? Incredible immune system? Faith? Spiritual DNA?

Believe it or not, a medical expert (as quoted by Today.Com) said it's chance. Fate was why these folks seldom got sick. “The most obvious reason (why they don't get sick much) is simply that [they] are lucky,” said Stephen Morse of Mailman School of Public Health at the University of Columbia. He's professor of epidemiology there.

Dr. William Schaffner didn't attribute it exactly to luck, but he wasn't able to pinpoint exactly what it is that makes other people seem untouchable to illness. “It’s kind of a tough topic. It’s likely due to a combination of ingredients,” he said. Schaffner is professor of medicine (division of infectious diseases) at the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine.

You know why experts can't pinpoint it? Because it's God's "grace." That's what it is. But if you're an "expert" of some kind, you're not supposed to just say "God's grace." You'd rather allow yourself to admit it's sheer "luck" than say it's God's grace and sound like a fanatic. Experts should remain objective and neutral.

Yup, what they couldn't identify (or refuse to admit) is simply God's grace. Not one earthly or medical factor or even a mix thereof can make you immune to sickness and live longer. There's no life elixir. God decides if you get sick or not, if you live or not. Some health buffs die early of sickness and I have an uncle who smokes and gets drunk a lot but doesn't get sick. Here's what God plans to do in these last days. Click here.

This doesn't mean we can now neglect our health and just do or eat anything. God says in the bible that we're seriously accountable for how we manage our health. "We are the temple of the Holy Spirit. Do you not know that you yourselves are God’s temple, and that God’s Spirit dwells in you? If anyone destroys God's temple, God will destroy him," [1 Corinthians 3.16]

But being a health buff is not why you aren't sickly. It's God's grace. And he gives his grace to whoever he wants to. It's not based on our merits or anything we do. It's purely due to his pleasure.

You Haven't Jogged Till You Do This

Jogging with company is good, but nothing beats jogging alone. Most people hate being alone, even during workouts. Working out with others challenges you more, they reason. Maybe. But jogging alone keeps you focused and in meditative mode which is good for the soul, besides being healthier and more self confident. It develops the survivor instincts in you, plus more.

First off. You jog at your own pace. That's awesome for non-joiners like me. You don't have to keep up with anything or anyone--not even yourself. You can jog slower than you did yesterday. Or jog faster. You can do any jogging style or be any type of jogger you want. Wear the outfit you wish. Even in workouts, you're your own you. 

Photo by Tara Glaser on Unsplash.

Freedom is Health

Freedom is daring to be alone. There are downsides to it, like the forfeiture of social connections and opportunities. The enjoyment of marriage and family. But loners are not really bereft of social life. They do mingle with the crowd and build friendships--safe friendships, that is. They can even marry and stay happily loyal in marriage. They choose their connections well. They enjoy that freedom. They expose themselves to all--and get along fine--but closely connect with only a few select. Actually, we enjoy friendships better than most people do because of that freedom. And that spells health, mental and emotional. 

Aside from the power of being alone, 

you have other powers within you which you can use. 

See below.

SEE THIS!

Jogging alone develops freedom powerfully. If you can comfortably jog alone, you are a tough survivor. We love solitude which makes us tough when the going gets rough. Solitude is what's real to us. I jog with others now and then, of course, and we talk and laugh (I often supply the jokes), but I break away sooner or later. To me, a jog is not complete without the solitude---the time I jog with the Creator alone, the Author of LIFE. The time I "hear" his steps. The time he listens to my pants. The time I listen to nature and my thoughts put there by God.

The time I see authentic life.

Why Run Quietly

I once ran with my marathon coach, Charlie, but he often asked me things aside from checking how I was doing. What was I busy with at work that day, why didn't I join the protest rally, was it okay to run a bit farther or did I want some rest? Things like that. I tried to hide my irritation but I guess he saw it. He began to run quietly with me and that's when I started enjoying running with him. 

When we needed to turn somewhere or increase our pace rate he just communicated with hand signals. I liked it better that way. Keeps you from inhaling a lot more street pollution, too. You run and talk and get all the belch smoke, foul smells and nasty particles in the air. 

Did you know that you get better chances of preventing germs in the air from getting into you if you breathe through your nose and not the mouth? Nostrils have tiny hair that filters dirt. The mouth doesn't. So I keep my mouth shut during runs or workouts, like when I spar or shadow box. Being alone and a non-joiner helps a lot. 

Going back to Charlie my marathon coach. At the end of our run, that's when we talked and laughed. We'd often talked about our fraternity, Tau Gamma Phi, although he belongs to the community TYM and I to the FEU chapter. I don't know where he is now, though. The last time I heard he was in Quezon Province working for a communication company. I guess he's in the US now.

What For?

Some guys asked me to join runs and marathons, but what for? I can run alone. I was also often invited to arnis and martial arts tournaments, but I couldn't see the benefit. I enjoy realistic sparring sessions but to prove that I'm better than someone by beating him up is stupid. I just want to learn and enjoy things, not prove anything. Anything that feeds the ego is downright stupid to me. It was why I also quit college. Too many competition there and proving yourself. I run because I want to run. Period. If you try to show you're better than I am, don't bother. I'm willing to concede--you're definitely better than I am. Happy?

When I don't feel like running out on the road, I do my workouts indoors. I don't like gyms so I always keep handy simple fitness equipment at home I can use all by myself. No need for helping hands or spotters. Like regular weights (the ones perfect for martial arts, not the kind for bodybuilders) steel benders and chest expanders. I also have a makeshift horizontal bar in my garage. I plan to buy a portable one. And I love heavy bag training, shadow boxing and squats for my aero workout. Of I love squats! I can take these things with me during trips (save the heavy bag 😁). I believe you need to be independent most times with some balancing acts of interdependence now and then.

And I love push-ups. I do 50 reps in 3 or 4 sets.

Discover the real power within you!

See it Here!

I'm happily married with my equally happy, non-joiner wife, and my boys are beginning to see the wisdom in being non-joiners, too, though they are healthy social creatures enjoying a lot of friends. They can stand independently and do not need to "belong" just to be accepted or recognized. They don't need to compromise themselves just to be let in. They enjoy being alone, though they can tolerate letting others join them.

They're able to eat out alone, commute by themselves, roam malls alone and even watch movies in theaters alone. They have discovered the advanture. 

It's Holistic

See the health benefits? It's social, intellectual, emotional, and spiritual. And physical, too. Some "experts" say there can be some emotional imbalance when you live alone in an extreme sense. I agree. God designed us to connect, not to go solo the rest of our lives. But he didn't mean it to be extreme dependence either. He values quality time being alone with him most times. HE loved Enoch for walking with HIM alone for 300 years and raptured him. It won't work for our good if we become used to hanging around with people all the time and couldn't live without being so. You've got to learn to be a non-joiner.